The enduring teachings of the Vedas are not a relic of the past, nor are they the exclusive preserve or the sole inheritance of Indians and Indo-Aryans. They belong to the common heritage of humanity and are relevant in our contemporary world and in our age. We owe it to ourselves and to the peoples and the nations of the world to share this precious heritage and to disseminate its message and meaning.

The Vedas have been translated into several languages. Scholars like Griffith, Wilson and Max Muller have written commentaries on the Vedas in English. But the need for bringing out an authentic and standard translation of the Vedas has been felt for quite sometime.

To meet the need of a modern, easy to understand English translation of the Vedas, the Veda Pratishthan had been publishing complete translation of the four Vedas in twenty-two volumes since 1977. This new 2008 edition has far superior production values.

In the Atharva-veda, we have in all 6031 verses, classified in 20 Kandas 736 Suktas, 111 Anuvakas, and 36 Prapathakas. In the Yajur-Veda Samhita, we have 1975 verses, classified in 40 Adhyayas (the Purvardha of 20 Adhyayas and also the Uttarardha of 20 Adhyayas). The entire Kauthumiya Sama-Veda has 1875 verses classified in the Puvarcika (585 verses). The Aranyaka (59 Verses) Mahanamni hymns (6 verses) and the Uttararcika, e.g. from 651 to 1875 verses (1225 verses).

S

Contents

ATHARVA VEDAVOL - IAbout this EditionForewordPreface

Introduction:1.The Vedic Samhitas2.Eastern And Western Translations of the Atharva Veda Samhita3.The Atharva Veda Samhita: editing By W. D. Whiteny4.The Vedic Theism of the Atharva Veda5.Hymns of Special Significance6.Treatment of Sickness – Medicinal Herbs in the Atharva Veda7.Rsis of the Atharva Veda

1.Divine Chants of Devotion and Spiritual Consciousness2.The Sama Veda and its School3.The Sama Samhita – Classification of Verses4.The Sama Veda and Ritualists5.The Brahmanas of the Sama Veda School6.Sama Traditions and the English Translators7.Metres and Pragatha8.Accent Notations in the Sama Veda9.Saman Chants and Music10.Vedic Music and InstrumentsAPPENDIX – Further Notes

Index of Mantras

Sama VedaPurvarcikaAranyarcikaMahanamnyarcikaSummary

VOL - IIAbout this Edition1.Uttararcika2.The Nighantu of Yaska and the Sama Veda

1.Some highlights of the Yajur Veda2.The Yajur Veda introduced3.Morphology of the text4.The Pada-patha of the Madhyandina Samhita5.Phonetic and script peculiarities of the Yajur Veda school6.Commentators of the Yajur Veda7.Liturgical contents of the Yajur Veda8.Concept of Yajna in the Yajur Veda9.Pasu-yaga or the animal sacrifice10.Metres of the Yajur Veda11.Our translation